Wan Keyao’s special assistant Zhu Ming was his university classmate and had been working for him for nearly thirty years. He wouldn’t claim to understand Wan Keyao completely, but he had never seen him like this before.
Staring at a black curly-haired cat eating on the screen, grinning like a fool… Using a term from an anime his little granddaughter watched: creepy pervert.
“Old Zhu, take a look—isn’t it super cute?” Wan Keyao turned his phone screen toward Zhu Ming, his expression looking exactly like he was showing off.
Zhu Ming, ever the shrewd one, played along enthusiastically: “Yeah, it’s pretty cute. But why’s the fur curly? Did they style it like that on purpose?”
Wan Keyao grinned and turned the screen back: “What do you know? This is natural curls—it’s genetic. So cute, look at those little paws, all pink and tender.”
Zhu Ming was scared by Wan Keyao’s expression—like he wanted to dive into the screen to pet the cat—and wiped away cold sweat. He thought to himself, this tyrant who smoked and drank constantly with an explosive temper could actually say the word “cute” from his mouth? It was so out of character it made him wonder if the Earth was about to explode.
The recording wasn’t long, but Wan Keyao watched it over and over. Seeing him glued to it unwilling to stop, Zhu Ming finally reminded him: “President Wan, the meeting’s about to start.”
Wan Keyao stared at the slim figure that flashed by on the screen, absentmindedly replying: “What meeting?”
“It’s already Q4, and the Wanxiang New Year’s gala is just three months away. We need to finalize the guest performers and the top ten popular streamers.”
“Oh… Handle something that minor yourself.” Wan Keyao eyed his wife and son on the screen halfheartedly: “Just go by the big data stats. No backdoor dealings, and don’t specially favor those little stars who left the company.”
Zhu Ming nodded and was about to leave when he heard Wan Keyao call out: “Wait, for that ranking, add the account ‘Jiang Xiaoyu Doesn’t Eat Fish’! Set the prizes higher for him. Wait, let me think about what he likes first.”
A bewildered, world-weary look crossed the not-so-old face of the special assistant: “Never heard of that account. A new streamer? Big data stats won’t rank it high.”
“I don’t care—figure out a way to rank it up!” Wan Keyao pointed at the little black cat on the screen, his expression serious and his demand utterly unreasonable.
Zhu Ming: ?
Didn’t he just say no backdoor dealings?
—
The day before Mid-Autumn Festival, because a leader was coming for an inspection after the holiday, all departments were banned from eating at their desks these days. Jiang Xiaoyu was dragged by Zhang Pangpang to the unit cafeteria for lunch. He opened his bento bag and laid out the lunch Ye Qingxu had prepared for him one by one.
Zhang Pangpang clutched his noodles, eyeing Jiang Xiaoyu’s bento enviously. He took the steamed pork ribs Jiang Xiaoyu clipped over and finally started slurping his noodles contentedly.
“Isn’t your mom still around here? Why didn’t she bring you food?” Jiang Xiaoyu asked.
“Aw, I’m sick of it—eating home food every day. Nothing beats eating out! Your dad’s the best—can’t cook but he’s willing to spend money! Eating out at home is delicious. Gimme another piece.”
The words were so funny that Jiang Xiaoyu’s lips quirked up, revealing a rare smile at work.
He was already good-looking, and that smile didn’t exactly make a hundred charms bloom, but it still drew attention from people in other departments. People are like that—once you shine with confidence, butterflies flock around. Luckily, Jiang Xiaoyu blocked out the crowd’s gazes well, just quietly eating and chatting softly with Zhang Pangpang.
Chen Siming from Criminal Technology came over with his tray: “Mind if I join?”
Zhang Pangpang looked up with his mouth full of oil, welcoming enthusiastically: “Come on, Chen Tech, sit here by me.”
Chen Siming sat down. Though there was an age gap between him and the two youngsters, they all worked in the system and understood each other’s jobs, so talking cases wouldn’t fall flat.
“I saw your side went out on a call this morning?” Zhang Pangpang asked.
“Yeah, a case came up. Scene was pretty gruesome.”
“How gruesome?”
“I’m afraid you’ll lose your appetites if I tell you.” Chen Siming said. Seeing the two young ones unfazed, he shoveled a bite of rice: “Victim was hung from the rafters, heart pierced by ten thousand arrows, face smashed to bits. Not exaggerating—that’s literally nearly ten thousand thin, long steel needles stabbed into the chest cavity. Face completely mangled beyond recognition. Preliminary judgment: still alive when pierced… No idea what grudge that was.”
Zhang Pangpang listened with relish, but Jiang Xiaoyu froze for a moment, finding the death familiar.
A few days ago, that kitten he rescued stuck in the wall crevice—Cat Mom’s face smashed, Cat Brother with arrows in its body—sort of matched Chen Siming’s description.
Just a coincidence, Jiang Xiaoyu thought, but he lost some appetite.
While investigating the new case, the first-instance verdict for the Jiang Fei case came out too. Yang Guo as principal offender, Zhao Peng as accomplice—no death penalty, but prison was inevitable. Especially for a traffic star like Yang Guo with massive idol baggage, jail time might hurt worse than death.
Zhang Pangpang snuck some snacks: “Heard Yang Guo and his legal team wanna appeal, saying Jiang Fei provoked first and Yang Guo stabbed in self-defense.”
Jiang Xiaoyu asked: “Did the prosecutor buy it?”
“No way? Who carries a cake knife mid-conversation for ‘self-defense’? Doesn’t hold up—appeal got rejected. Plus his manager spilled everything clean. No hope.”
There was actually one thing from the case still bugging Jiang Xiaoyu, and seeing Luo Xi at his doorstep probably answered it.
Luo Xi still wore sunglasses, pretending to be blind, with Abu leashed at his side. Spotting Jiang Xiaoyu getting out of the car, Abu wagged its tail and charged over.
“Cat Officer, Dog’s been waiting ages for you.”
Jiang Xiaoyu ruffled its head: “Something up?”
Luo Xi cut in: “I made some fresh flower cakes. Abu insisted on bringing some for you.” Seeing Ye Qingxu park and walk over, he didn’t ask anything else, just smiled: “Can I call you uncle now?”
Jiang Xiaoyu thought, this guy’s sharp.
Ye Qingxu took the flower cakes from Luo Xi: “Thanks. You and Little Yu go inside and chat. I’ll prep dinner.”
“Prepping dinner” just meant waiting for the restaurant delivery. Luo Xi scanned the yard through his sunglasses: “Nice design. It’ll be stunning when the flowers bloom.”
Jiang Xiaoyu looked at him speechless: “Your eyes are fine now—why still pretend to be blind? And sunglasses this late?”
Luo Xi shrugged: “No choice. Abu refuses to turn human, but wants to go out far—so I gotta keep playing blind.”
The Labrador had been playing with Dog but ran over angrily upon hearing that and pounced on him, barking: “Dog won’t turn back human! Don’t even think about mating with Dog!”
Jiang Xiaoyu, drinking water, nearly spat it out and coughed hard. Ye Qingxu, plating the delivery dishes, came over worriedly to pat his back: “Why drink so fast?”
Luo Xi asked curiously: “Did Abu say something? What’d he say?”
Jiang Xiaoyu, face red, wiped his mouth with his arm, ignored the master-servant duo, dodged the question and told Ye Qingxu: “Dad, I’m hungry.”
Ye Qingxu hurried back to serve rice: “Coming, coming—let’s eat.”
Luo Xi lived up to being a jellyfish spirit, picking Jiang Xiaoyu’s good points at the table to hype up Ye Qingxu. The newly minted dad was so pleased he warmed up, smiling as he fetched fruit.
Jiang Xiaoyu asked: “How’d your case turn out?”
Luo Xi ate elegantly: “Community service plus strict supervision. Gotta report to your place regularly for years, no using toxins on normals casually—jail if caught.”
“And Abu?”
“Driver side… probably forgave Abu for being young, dropped the appeal. Jiang Fei’s abrasion? Dead guy’s case closed, no pursuit. Abu’s got thrice-weekly community classes till passing exams.”
Jiang Xiaoyu breathed relief—best outcome possible. Chewing his chopsticks, he pondered long before asking seriously: “Jiang Fei’s case is mostly wrapped, but I gotta ask: did you do the crushing injury on his hand?”
Luo Xi smiled curved-eyed, leaning to whisper in Jiang Xiaoyu’s ear after a bit: “Yep.”
“How’d you make that U-shaped crush?”
“I’m a member at the Equestrian Club. Got a pony—and it just got new horseshoes.”
Luo Xi stopped there, smiling brightly: “Getting late. Happy early Mid-Autumn to Officer Jiang and Jiang Dad.”
Ye Qingxu returned with the fruit plate, urging: “Leaving already? Have some fruit and chat more with Little Yu?”
Luo Xi called Abu, smiling: “Keep chatting and we’ll miss the bus. Next time for sure.”
Bidding them goodbye, he led the sulky Abu: “Told ya those two are father and son.”
Abu snorted: “Lucky guess.”
Luo Xi smiled as if understanding, gazing at the nearly full moon: “Bet Yang Guo’ll say Jiang Fei provoked on purpose or got heated. No helping it—I gave Jiang Fei the hint. Tsk, bon voyage, you two.”
He meant Jiang Fei—of course, and Yang Guo too.
—
After dinner, Ye Qingxu worked late into the night under the lamp in the workshop next to the main house. Jiang Xiaoyu, a black fuzzy ball, lay in the courtyard with a group of cats and dogs, gazing at the moon in the sky.
“Big Boss, what’s Mid-Autumn Festival?” Half-Ear Civet asked, flicking its tail.
Jiang Xiaoyu thought for a moment, wondering how to explain it to them. “Mid-Autumn… is when a family gets together, eats dinner, eats mooncakes, and appreciates the moon.” His tone wasn’t very certain, because in past years, the holiday had little to do with him.
“But us cats are with Little Cat Cop every day—doesn’t that make every day Mid-Autumn?” Heterochromia Little White Cat interjected.
Jiang Xiaoyu lifted a paw to pet it. “You’re right.”
“Idiot! It’s not the same! Mid-Autumn means eating mooncakes! So you have to be together, eat mooncakes, and watch the moon—that’s what makes it count!” Half-Ear Civet was jealous and shoved its head under Jiang Xiaoyu’s paw for pets too.
